Now I seek my own volunteer crew or even better... my permanent sailing companion

This was either the 3rd or 4th time to drive out to the coast so Craig could surf a couple days.   It was definitely the nicest weather as its been way over average temperature wise in this part of California.  As part of my cousins quest to get rid of his stuff to prepare for moving overseas he brought 2 surfboards along that he would leave for sale on consignment in Santa Cruz.   On Wednesday morning, the day we would be heading back my cousin was out surfing on the 'north point' side out from 'gunsight rock' and after wiping out his leash snagged on a rock and he and his board were getting worked pretty hard.  It took him 4 attempts to finally get the ankle cuff of the leash removed at which time he was near passing out I guess.  I had flagged down a surfer who,was just walking down to the beach to assist.  Craig had slowly floated back to shore on his back by then but the guy did retrieve his board that had begun to get tossed against rocks by the waves...

We just returned Wednesday night from another few days on the coast.  It's likely the last time before I'll be heading back tomDuluth February 25.  It was nice sleeping under the stars with no bugs and pretty warm even at night.  About 45 I suppose?  It was almost 80 on Monday afternoon when we got to Davenport Landing about 10 miles north of Santa Cruz.  My cousin had mentioned there were a few kayak surfers around now and then I this time I met one.  Talked with him a little bit and got my first look (in person) of a surf kayak.  I guess it was built in the U.K.  Watching the surfers is not so great as the distance is pretty far.  Anyway here's a couple photos of the guys Surf Kayak.  He's also a whitewater paddler as is likely common with surf kayakers I suspect.        

Ever since my cousin moved to Manteca in the Central Valley due to a job he gets to the coast for some surfing every 2 to 3 weeks at best. It's about a 2 hour drive depending on traffic. On the morning we were to drive back to Manteca we walked out to Franklin Point for breakfast.  Get your own valid XHTML Vimeo embed 

As it turned out San Diego is as far south as I'll be going this time. I packed up and left the boat about 12:30 pm. I left a note but also ran into Tom at Point Break Cafe. We said our good byes and I had lunch. I had my big back pack and small pack. 50 pounds I suppose? I'd already scoped out hostel and car rental info. Looked into flights but to leave in a day or two back to Duluth were quite high. Not to mention I really don't want to go back and live in my attic apartment with its uninsulated roof until at least end of February. It was 5.5 miles from the boat at the visitor dock on Shelter Island to here at RK Hostel near the airport and downtown? Most would have used a taxi but I'm thrifty...and like to walk..even carrying 50+ pounds. It was quite nice as the whole way was bike and walking path with plenty of benches, which I rested at often enough. I hope my cousin in Manteca where I'd spent a month waiting for Tom and his boat to get to San Fra...

It's been a few days since writing here. Anyway we did in fact get to Ventura Harbor an hour or so after dark. It was hard to see the unlit channel markers and we had several near misses. Once in the Harbor basin there was enough lights from the docks. Tom had called ahead and was told to dock next to an old Navy PT boat. We went to the end but really didn't know where to look so we docked at the only open dock...the fuel dock. It was gated so we couldn't go anywhere. We asked some folks on a nearby boat but they had only arrived earlier that evening. We were told of some open end docks so off we went and we tied up to one. For all we knew it was taken and a boat was going to show up forcing us to move. Fortunately we were left undisturbed and had a good night sleep as we really hadn't since we skipped staying overnight in Morro Bay. We left soon after sunrise. The waves were much larger than when we came in. The High Surf advisory was underway. Our next s...

After a brief rest, showers and 2 restaurant meals we decided to not stay overnight in Morro Bay due to a predicted change in the weather.  We left Morro Bay about 4:30 pm and rounded the corner of California at night.  Point Arguello and Point Conception are called California's 'Cape Horn'. Anyway it was fairly placid with about a 7 foot swell and no wind.  We tried the genoa a couple times but we again motored the whole way.  Anticipation of arriving to Santa Barbara in the early afternoon were put off due to no available slips.  I'm glad we called to check before pulling all the way in.  We are now about 2 hours from the entrance to the Ventura Harbor.  It will be in the dark which is best avoided but at least we have moonlight.   Sunset shortly after leaving Morro Bay Heading toward Ventura at 4 pm    

We had about a 24 hour passage from Monterey to Morro Bay. We kind of slowed down to arrive after sunrise to enter the harbor. Motored other than a short 2 to 3 hours of sailing. It was nasty drizzly with a headwind most of the night. Looking at the weather and our next passage to Santa Barbara we have decided to rest 5 of 6 hours and leave this evening at 6 pm. This will put us going around the big corner of Point Arguello and Point Conception after sunrise. It also beats out some stronger winds and much bigger swells that are predicted were we to leave after a full nights sleep. We co hold end up not wanting to leave for 5 days if we wait. The total to Santa Barbara is 116 NM. Leaving to get past Point Conception in daylight puts us having a hard time reaching Santa Barbara by dark but if we leave and catch Point Arguello at dawn we can make it. Big swell as we passed Big Sir Further down the coast past Point Sir I've seen about 15 Sea Otters between Monterey and here a...

We left Monterey about 8 am and have passed the Big Sir.  We may push on to Santa Barbara as we reach Morro Bay in darkness.  Sailed a couple hours but once again motoring into headwind.    

after 4 nights at the Monterey Marina we are again heading south.  As it turned out we could have stayed just one night and made our way south but the extra night led to waiting 2 more nights to wait for some substantial headwinds to ass.  As it is we hope to get south of Big Sir before another few hours of stronger headwinds moves in.  Once south of there it's 5 to 10 knots from varying directions.  We may just co tinge on all the way to Santa Barbara which would be about 216 NM of sailing so about 45 hours or so swapping 3 hour shifts.  About halfway we have the option of pulling in at Morro Bay to anchor and rest a night maybe fuel up then push on to Santa Barbara.  It looks like quite a stretch of safe sailing conditions once we are down that far so likely no or at least less multiple nights staying at Marinas waiting for weather Windows. We went to fuel up today and went right past the breakwater covered with Sea Lions. I should point out this imbed...

Today I decided t go see the Morerey Bay Aquarium.  Before the Aquarium I caught a $5 Tuesday 11:00 am showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Looks like we will be here a couple more nights waiting for safe sailing conditions.         

As it turned out weather wise, we could have not stopped here in Monterey and continued on to maximize distance with the weather window. Today was beautiful. Some strong headwinds are coming so heading out tomorrow is out....maybe Thursday? It will be about 113 NM to the next port we may stop, Morro Bay. If the weather allows this time we will likely continue on to Santa Barbara which is a similar distance so 225 NM or so. This morning Tom was already out and about on his folding bike when I got up. I decided to go for a walk which ended up being to the end of the Monterey Pennisula. There was a nice coastal walkway/bike path. I guess round trip I walked 8.2 miles today. I saw 5 sea otters today. That's one more than I saw during my 2.5 month kayak trip up the inside passage of B.C. and SE Alaska. The main breakwater of Monterey Harbor is covered with at least 300 sea lions. They hop up on some docks in the Marina and even boats they say. This is from the end of the Mont...

We left San Francisco Bay about 5:00 pm timing it to motor through the notorious bar at slack tide.  It was a little disconcerting seeing the breaking waves in the distance as we approached slack tide on the ebb current.  It was a relief to see the seas calm as we approached, though still steep and confused the breakers had disappeared.  I was trying to get video which my camera but it wasn't working so I pulled out my iPhone to capture how nicely the Cheoy Lee handled the steep waves and kept us dry.  The video is taken past the really big water unfortunately.. We then motored and motor sailed through the dark moonless night.  We were heading straight into as light headwind and were only making 4.5 knots on average.  The crossing of Monterey Bay gave us a nice SE wind and we unfurled the Genoa and for a few hours making 7 - 8 knots.  We arrived about 11:00 am. I should point out these imbedded Vimeo vids won't show on iOS devices like iPad or iPhone...

We have a weather window to finally set out southward.  The plan is an 18 hour sail to Monterey.  We will leave the 'Bay' at slack tide about 5 pm and sail or motor with expected light easterly winds and westerly swell dropping to 4' to 6' at 15 seconds.    

An earlier blog entry about a wooden tall ship project here in Sausalito lacked details as it was closed up for the weekend. Yesterday I stopped in to get some photos and ended up getting a tour of the whole project. I forget the guy's name who took me and one other person on the tour. He is very involved in fact he donated the captain's wheel that had been an antique in his family 3 generations. The name of the boat is Mathew Turner and there is a board of history in one of the photos...not that you can read it as photos post low quality using the blogger app on iPad. The length overall will be 136' and the fore mast is all square rigged. A sister ship of the same design has already been completed and is stationed in the Sea of Cortez presently. Her name is 'Seaward' I am not sure where she was made but possibly here in Sausalito? She's made mainly of Douglas Fir with White Oak here and there. Bronze bracing plates are also used here and there and they...